Sheep

We have been raising traditional-style Tunis sheep since 2006, with our first lambs arriving in 2007.

This beautiful breed is characterized by its red face and legs and calm disposition. One of the oldest American sheep breeds, they were developed by crossing fat-tailed sheep from Tunisia (in Northern Africa) with local sheep in the American colonies. The first documented importation of Tunisian sheep was in 1799. They were sent to the US as a gift from the ruler of Tunisia and given to Judge Richard Peters, who lived in Pennsylvania.

Tunis sheep are a medium-size sheep with soft cream-colored wool. They regularly have twin lambs and are excellent foragers. They produce wonderful fleece with a micron count of 24-30, which is lofty and soft. Their meat is very fine flavored, winning awards at the Ark of Taste Slow Food blind taste test in 2009.

We breed our ewes to lamb in early Spring and wean the lambs at 3 months of age. We do not register our lambs at birth. Instead we wait until weaning to watch how they grow and to see if the have or develop any (breed standard) faults. We do not register any lambs with scurs or spots – we don’t want those traits in our sheep.